V-Enable launches FreeMobile411 search service
April 14, 2008
How pretty!
Mobile search provider V-Enable has introduced FreeMobile411, a service available on any Web-enabled handset free of charge.
According to a January survey by Local Mobile Search of Opus Research Group, more than 30 percent of mobile calls are for residential queries.
"First, we wanted to offer consumers the most accurate, relevant and useful mobile local search service, entirely free,” said Craig Hagopian, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of V-Enable.
“To do this, we started by incorporating national directories and local data from multiple sources which we update nightly. Compare our results to others who use outdated or Internet-scraped information – we find what others miss or incorrectly list.
“Customers tell us they are most frustrated by services that provide wrong or outdated information, especially when driving to the location," he said. "It’s the No. 1 reason to stop one and try another service. We benefit from that behavior.”
And it's free
Unlike other free 411 services, FreeMobile411 features 14 million businesses and 140 million residential listings. It also allows users to browse by category, get maps, driving directions, see other businesses nearby and connect to an operator if needed.
“Also, unique to our service is the ability to search business name, business category and residential search which we integrated with maps and driving directions and the ability to send to a friend with a single click,” Mr. Hagopian said.
The service is available through a universal mobile browser version as well as a multimodal search by voice and text Brew and Java application on select carriers. In all cases, searchers will have access to a live operator to help cull through listings.
Mr. Hagopian said that the new product offers advertisers a huge advantage. Most of the time, a call to 411 is a leading indicator for purchase intent.
V-Enable found that 60 percent to 70 percent of the time consumers are either driving to a business or searching for a business and thus are in a buying-decision mode when accessing directory service.
“Our advertisers gain important mind-share at the most critical moment,” he said.
V-Enable uses cost-per-acquisition ads, so advertisers only pay when their listing is accessed.
“We pull from the same existing Internet advertising inventory, so our fill rate is not only strong but relevant and there’s no need to create a new ad,” Mr. Hagopian said.
“While we believe in building end-to-end solutions customized for mobile carriers, we like having a product that is direct to the consumer," he said. "We are able to deliver new versions on-the-fly that allow us and our customers to use the latest innovations.”